Online Banking: A Shift to Mobile Platforms

The report reveals that 84% of U.S. consumers now perform banking activities to manage their account information using their home computers or mobile devices, of these 69% only use their computers to do so. Online banking is pervasive, and consumers are increasingly receiving alerts from their financial institutions and accessing online banking websites by mobile devices when they are on the go.

Consumers are beginning to rely more heavily on online banking as their digital “branch” or banking source for managing their accounts and for customer service. Online and mobile banking are the fastest growing methods used by consumers to communicate with their financial institutions. Online banking is becoming critical and the preferred source to learn about new financial products and services, as Mercator Advisory Group's survey finds that over half (53%) of consumers prefer to be notified electronically, mostly by email (36%) and more than in person (26%).

The survey findings are based on responses from a sample of 3,001 US adults with banking relationships collected in a survey conducted in November 2013.

'Online Banking: A Shift to Mobile Platforms' highlights
trends in use of online banking by computer and mobile platforms, communication methods with financial institutions, use of personal financial management (PFM) tools, alerts, online bill-payment methods and electronic billing, and demographics of recent account openers. The study evaluates the account opening process online, consumers' preferences of platform for making bank transactions and for receiving new information on products and services.

“Consumers want the convenience of having their digital ‘branch' be available wherever they are, at any time, at home and by mobile, as more banking activities shift to mobile platforms,” states Karen Augustine, author of the report and manager of Primary Data Services at Mercator Advisory Group, which includes the CustomerMonitor Survey Series.

Internet Access and Use of Online BankingRising Use of Mobile Devices and Public WiFi for Internet AccessUse of Online BankingReasons for Using AlertsRising Importance of PFM ToolsBilling and Financial Reviews Conducted OnlineRising Use of the FI Website for CommunicationPreferred Platform and Access Method for Electronic Transactions